Holiday Gift Guide

Little Mommy Doctor Mommy doll

Wow! This is an awesome price for the popular Little Mommy Doctor Mommy doll – only $22.31. It’s normally $50 (a 55% savings).

We have one here that I’m currently reviewing… and the kids are going to love it! I’ve actually had a tough time even finding this one on store shelves, much less find it for less than half price! I don’t know how long this price will last, so grab it now if you’re interested.

  • This little girl is not feeling well, but her mommy can make her feel all better
  • Check on her with the included medical instruments and she will interact with all sorts of phrases
  • Use the reflex hammer on her knee (that really kicks) and she will giggle
  • Hear her heartbeat and check for a fever with the stethoscope and thermometer
  • Comes with interactive doll, tons of medical instruments and doctors bag and more

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PlanToys Green Dollhouse

PlanToys

the review

When I think of wooden dollhouses, I think of a classic childhood toy – one that is well-built and will last throughout a generation or two.

In our real lives, when you find a home you truly love, you don’t just pick up and move every couple years. You stay. You make yourself at home. You find yourself picking up this accessory here or sprucing up the window treatments there.

You show pride of ownership (for your home and for the earth) by installing rain barrels and collecting recycling week after week. And when you’re in your forever home, you may even make long-term investments, like installing solar panels.

It’s no different in the world of play dollhouses, either. When you find “the one”, you get to watch your kids make themselves at home with it, playing out our everyday in miniature. And when it’s particularly well-made, like this PlanToys version, perhaps you’ll even get to watch their kids do the same someday.

PlanToys and their Green Dollhouse with furniture makes it incredibly easy for boys and girls of all ages to make themselves at home in an earth-friendly way.

I love all the attention to detail that you find in this house. One of my favorites is the recycling bin, that actually opens and shuts.

Plan Toys recycle bin

Plan Toys recycling bin

For my kids, this is their everyday life. They look forward to helping us with recycling and they get excited to learn about new ways to live a bit earth-friendlier. They’re familiar with solar panels, as we have a few buildings in our community that have started installing them and are learning exactly how they help. They see rain barrels every week when we visit the library and the park.

I love that now they can extend this green lifestyle through their play with the PlanToys green dollhouse, too.

I also need to mention how much I appreciate that this house from PlanToys is completely gender neutral. My son and daughter play well together (most days) and don’t distinguish between “girl” and “boy” toys quite yet. I love that my son will have just as much fun playing with this as his sister will… and the age difference between them means that he’ll be able to help explain some of these earth-friendly features (the solar panels and rain barrels, for instance) to his younger sister, as he’s learning about the real versions in our community.

I can’t say I’m surprised that this thoughtful attention to detail and quality come from a company like PlanToys. According to the PlanToys website, they were the first company in the world to manufacture wooden toys from preservative-free rubberwood. They continue to be committed to minimizing their impact on the environment. They use non-toxic paints and eco-friendly materials in their products.

Even the little informational booklet that PlanToys includes in the box is filled with educational information. Normally we end up tossing (ahem, recycling) these, but in this case, we’re actually going to use this to help teach the kids what each miniature replica does. The booklet shows the impact of using a wind turbine, a shade canopy and passive solar design and green energy in the form of an adjustable solar cell panel.

The Green Dollhouse from Plan Toys is, without a doubt, a classic wooden dollhouse that can be enjoyed and passed down through generations.

What we love about PlanToys Green Dollhouse:

Gender neutral, so both boys and girls can happily play together.
Open-ended play.
 Well-built from sustainable rubberwood.
Teaches earth-friendly actions as part of everyday play (recycling bins, water collection bins, wind turbines and more).

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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review. I received a product to facilitate my review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Looking for more educational games and toys?

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Activision family video games

Activision

Activision recently invited me to attend their Family Games Summit in NYC, where we discussed different ways to incorporate video games into the classic family game night.

One of my favorites growing up, Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster!), was there with her own two daughters to help facilitate the discussion.

After sharing an overview on the latest family games from Activision, including Angry Birds Trilogy, Wipeout 3 and, of course, the newest Skylanders Giants, they then shared tips on making the most of family gaming.

One of the top tips included checking the ratings carefully and reading more about the content of each game and the interactive elements in each before playing. The key to introducing video games into the more traditional family game night without going overboard on screen time is finding a balance.

Then, of course, came the best part… trying out the games ourselves!

I was looking forward to finding out more about Skylanders Giants, since this is one of the big gifts on my son’s wish list this year. He hasn’t yet played the first generation of Skylanders, though a few of his friends have played (and love) it. One of the key selling points for us here is that the collectible figurines that allow you to play in the Skylanders game are just as fun to collect and play with while he’s disconnected. I can see him playing with these “guys” on his own without the video game, too, which is a perfect way to help achieve that important balance between screen time and less wired play time.

The other selling point on Skylanders Giants for us, as a family, is that it’s a role-playing game that both my son and my husband will enjoy playing together.

Activision has several family video games out this season, including Wipeout 3, Angry Birds Trilogy, Wreck-It Ralph, Lalaloopsy and Moshi Monsters.

Have you introduced video games into your family game night yet?
Which games are your favorites?

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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review. I received a product to facilitate my review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Looking for more educational games and toys?

Here are more reviews of our favorite toys and educational games!

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